Mud-guard.



C. H. NICHOLS.

MUD GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED 0011.31, 1912.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

CHARLES HILLYARD NICHOLS, WOLVERTON, ENGLAND.

MUD-GUARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 11,1913..

Application led October 31, 1912. Serial No. 728,922.

To all whom it may/ conoerm Be it known that I, CHARLES I-IILLYARD NICHOLS, a subject of the King ofl England, residing at 40 Stratford road, lVolvert-on, Bucks, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mud-Guards; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skille in the art to which it appertains to make nd use the same. Y

The invention relates to improvements in mud guards for wheels of motor and other road vehicles. y

According to the present improved construction the mud guard proper is connected to a framework provided with a slot or slots forming arcs of circles placed eccentrically with respect to the wheel such slot or slots working over a pin or pins or equivalent devices non-rotatable with the vehicle wheel. By this construction the mud guard can be more readily attached to or detached from the wheel of the vehicle than has hit-herto been the case,while its parts are moreover soformed and arranged that in case the vehicle is backed or moved forward while the guard is in contact with the. curb the mud .guard is automatically moved to a higher position for the purpose of preventing its being damaged.,

It having been found in actual practice that the tendency of the centrally suspended mud guard i" to lag behind the wheel on its forward mo\ ement and thatl most of the mud is splashed from the front of the wheel means-are also provided for the purpose of suspending the guard in a position'slightly in advance of the/axle. A nd in order that my said invention may be better understood I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings accompanying this specification in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a road vehicle wheel with my mud guard attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a view showing the guard ina raisedposition. Fig. 3 shows side elevation of a part of Fig. 1, the springs being removed for the sake of clearness.

The same letters and numerals of reference are employed to denote the same parts 'in all the views.

a is the hub of *he wheel.

1J is a flangedring which has attached over pins e which are attached by means of clamps f to two radially opposite spokes of the wheel so that the ring b rotates with the wheel.

g is another ring revolubly mounted over the ring b. The ring g is made in two 4halves the lower Vhalf'being formed with the main frame L. The mainframe it is provided vvith two pins furnished with large washers am n is another framework which is provided with twolong slots p the curve of each slot being'struck from the center of the opposite pin c.. 4These slots p are passed over the pins r: s'o thatv the framework can move up and down about either of the eenters k.

g is a strip' of metal or other suitable material fwhich is pivoted to the frame a by a holt r and can be pivoted in any of the holes s. This strip g is also connected to the frame n by means of the tension springs t.

The strip g has attached thereto a number of buttons uover which is passed a iiap o of leather or other suitable material, kept in position by means of spring arms.

w are a number of spring arms attached to the strip q and passing through slits 2 in the aforesaid fia o.

3 is a flat spring attached to the back of the framework n and bearing upon the curved portion of the dependent framework h.

Attached to the upper portion of the ring q is a projecting arm. t which is connected with the mud lguard or other suitable fixed portion vof the vehicle by means of aspring 5. It will be observed that the frame n is so located with respect to the center of the wheel that the fla o comes somewhat in advance of the vertical line through the center of the wheel.

The action of the device will be readily understood. Normally the mudguard 'u hangs at the side of the wheel and prevents the mud being splashed laterally therefrom. If the guard meets an obstruction it rises owing to one or other side of the slotted framework n moving upward over the pin 7c, and the guard itself can also move 'around the pivot r which prevents any possibility of the guard being damaged, say, by coming in contact with the curb.

Fig.V 2 illustrates both positions of the guard. It will be seen in that figure that the left hand side portion of the framework n has moved upward and the guard itself has in addition turned through a certain angle from the normal dotted position shown in the ligure. As soon as the obstacle is passed or the pressure released the parts of the device return to their normal position under the iniuence of the springs. The springs w coming behind the material of the flap IU also lend it a certain amount of resiliency and prevent the liability of its being damaged.

In some cases in place of providing a spring for the purpose of reducing the friction between the moving frame n and the fixed framework z., I may provide a roller or rollers mounted in connection with either of the frames and working against the other frame.

Instead of using a strip ofleather for forming the mudguard proper I may employ rigid material such as wood attached by means of springs or I may employ any suitable iexible material such as canvas treated with rubber or sheets of other kind of elastic material suitably carried by the bar or the like.

The flat springs w or the like attached to the mud guard proper are curved outward in such a way that on the vehicle approaching the curb at any angle they are the tirst part to come into contact with the curb and are thereby pressed slightly inward and the auxiliary frame a and its dependent parts swing clear of the curb or other obstacle.

It will be understood that the particular method of constructing a device herein described and shown on the accompanying drawings is given merely by way of eX- ample, as the construction may be varied tosuit requirements while obtaining the same effect.

It will be observed that'the construction is such that the mud guard can be very readily attached to the spokes of the wheel as it is only necessary to provide suitable clamps for attachment to the spokes carrying pins or the like over which the slotted arms in connection with the inner ring pass.

lVhat I claim as my invention and desire 'position of rest, a frame mounted for oscillation on said member, a guard mounted on said frame for independent oscillation thereabout, and means to bring said guard to rest after oscillation has been set up therein.

2. A wheel fender comprising a wheelattaclnng member, a second member revolubly mounted over said first-named member and having arms projecting therefrom, pivots carried by the arms, a trame having slots therein engaging over said pivots whereby said frame is mounted to oscillate about either pivot, and al guard depending from said frame.

3. A wheel fender comprising a wheelattaching member, a second member revolubly mounted over said first-named member and having arms projecting therefrom, pivots on said arms, a frame having slots therein engaging over said pivots whereby said fra-me is mounted to oscillate about either pivot, a guard pivoted on said frame, and a spring arranged between said frame and said guard to either side of the pivot.

4. A wheel fender comprising a wheelattaching member, a second'member revolubly mounted over said rst-named member and having a plurality of arms radiating therefrom, two ot' said arms being diametrically opposed and of unequal length, pivots projecting from said arms, a frame having arcuate slots therein engaging over said pivots whereby said frame is mounted to oscillate about either pivot, a guard pivotally hung from said frame, springs arranged between said frame and said guard to either side of the pivot, and a spring arranged between the remaining arm on said second-named member andV the vehicle body.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES HILLYARD NICHOLS. Witnesses A. E.' VIDAL, L. SIMMONDS. 

